Communication in Health and Social Care: A Comprehensive Analysis

This assignment delves into the multifaceted nature of communication within health and social care organizations. It explores the influence of cultural factors and values on communication, examines relevant legislation and standards, and analyzes the impact of ICT software on communication processes. The assignment utilizes case studies to illustrate key concepts and provides practical suggestions for improving communication within the healthcare setting.

COMMUNICATION IN HSC

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................2
TASK 1..............................................................................................................................................4
PRESENTATION............................................................................................................................4
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................19
2.1 EXPLAIN HOW THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS IS INFLUENCED BY THE KEY FACTORS
THAT ARE RELATED TO CULTURES AND VALUES.......................................................................19
2.2 EXPLAIN LEGISLATION AND STANDARDS THAT ARE APPLICABLE TO A HEALTH AND SOCIAL
CARE SETTING............................................................................................................................21
2.3 ANALYZE HOW THE LEGISLATION IMPACTS ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE
COMMUNICATION PROCESS WITHIN THE HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE ORGANIZATIONS........23
2.4 SUGGEST WAYS THROUGH WHICH THE COMMUNICATION CAN BE IMPROVED WITHIN
THE HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE ORGANIZATIONS....................................................................24
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................25
3.1 ACCESS AND USE OF ICT SOFTWARE IN A HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE WORKPLACE..........25
3.2 ANALYZE THE ADVANTAGES OF USING ICT SOFTWARE FOR THE CARE WORKERS, SERVICE
USERS AND FOR THE HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE ORGANIZATIONS.........................................26
3.3 ANALYZE THE POTENTIAL HAZARDS OF PROVIDING ICT TO THE SERVICE USERS AND STAFF
IN THE HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE ORGANIZATIONS................................................................27
CONCLUSION.................................................................................................................................29
REFERENCES...................................................................................................................................30
1

INTRODUCTION
The process of making contact with others so as to identify their requirements and needs is
known as “Communication”. There are several different types of communications that take
place between two or more entities as per the need of the situation. A proper communication
cycle is followed for carrying out effective communication. The stages involved in a c cycle
include; generation of the idea, coding of a message, sending of a message, receiving of the
message, decoding of a message, and understanding the message.
Figure: 1. Communication Cycle
[Source: http://thereisgroup.com/communications-strategy/]
The following assignment discusses the different factors that are associated with the concept of
communication within the health and social care organizations. The case study of Anna and
Paul is taken into consideration in developing a PowerPoint presentation, whereas the case
scenario of a young English student nurse is taken into consideration for portraying the essay.
The ability of an individual to express all the feelings and information appropriately to others so
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that clear understanding is developed between the sender and receiver is known as a
communication skill. There are several practices by the means of which effective
communication skills can be developed by an individual. There have also been several
communication technologies developed so as to support work within the health and social care
organizations, and the different aspects of these communication technologies are discussed in
the last section of the assignment.
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TASK 2
INTRODUCTION
The following essay is based on the case scenario of young English student nurse, who joins a
health and social care organization for her second placement. In this essay, the influence of key
factors on the communication process along with the impacts of legislation on the effectiveness
of communication process within a healthcare organization is discussed effectively.
BODY
2.1 EXPLAIN HOW THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS IS INFLUENCED BY THE
KEY FACTORS THAT ARE RELATED TO CULTURES AND VALUES
It is very important for a health and social care organization to develop effective
communication within the workplace so as to form an appropriate bond between the service
users and the healthcare professionals within a healthcare organization. There are several key
factors that are related to the cultures and values such as; age, sex, race, belief, education, etc.
that influences the process of communication within a health and social care organization as
discussed in the provided case scenario of “Mentoring”.
The influence of these cultural factors and values on the communication process is as follows;
RACE
It is a key factor that might influence the communication process within a health and social care
organization. The health care professionals must not discriminate against any of the patients on
the basis of that individual’s race (Abu-Rish, 2012).
AGE
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The age of patients must always be kept in mind by the health care professionals while treating
them. There must be the difference in the type of communication skills that are used to treat
adults and children in the care homes.
SOCIAL CLASS
Every individual belongs to a different social class, and thus it is very important for the
healthcare providers to treat people keeping in mind their social status (Andreassen, 2015).
Thus, these are some of the key cultural factors and values that can potentially influence the
communication process in the health and social care organizations.
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2.2 EXPLAIN LEGISLATION AND STANDARDS THAT ARE APPLICABLE TO A
HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE SETTING
There are several different standards and legislation developed by the government of the
United Kingdom. From the case scenario of young English student nurse, it can be analyzed that
during the time of her health care practices, she did not appropriately follow the legislation and
standards that are developed by the UK’s government for the health and social care
organizations. She refused to treat one Arab patient in the hospital because the patient’s bed
was wet and her clothes were full of sick. The different legislation and standards that are
applicable in such a scenario and are needed to be followed by the healthcare professionals like
the young English student nurse are as follows;
HUMAN RIGHTS ACT, 1998
According to this legislation, the individuals working in a healthcare organization or the patient
of the organization are safe against any kind of criminal activities or mistreatment within the
workplace. This act was developed and implemented in the United Kingdom in the year 1998
(Best, et al. 2010).
RACE RELATION ACT, 1968
This legislation protects an individual from being getting discriminated within an organization
on the basis of that individual’s race. This law was implemented in the year 1968, which was
later on replaced by the equality act of 2010.
EQUALITY ACT, 2010
This legislation was developed by the government of the United Kingdom in 2010. This law
replaced the different acts and thus, it incorporates their policies within one single law.
According to the equality act of 2010, every individual within the health and social care
organizations must be treated equally and there must not be any kind of discrimination on the
basis of any factor such as; race, age, sex, social status, etc.
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Consequently, these are some of the major legislation and standards that are applicable to a
health and social care setting.
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2.3 ANALYZE HOW THE LEGISLATION IMPACTS ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF
THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS WITHIN THE HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE
ORGANIZATIONS
As discussed in the previous section of this report, there are several different standards and
legislation developed by the government of the United Kingdom for the health and social care
sector of the nation. This legislation has several impacts on the effectiveness of the
communication process within the health and social care organizations. If the above-discussed
legislation like; the equality act, human rights act, and the race relation act are implemented
properly within the workplace, then it may cause several positive impacts for the health and
social care organizations (Betancourt, et al. 2016).
The legislation and governmental policies in the health and social care sector play a significant
role in the effective development of communication process within the workplace. This
legislation allows the patients of the care homes to communicate effectively with the
healthcare professionals regarding their problems and issues. The policies and regulation also
allow the employees and patients of the health and social care organizations to make the
communication process clear and transparent between them. There are several departments
present in an organization and thus the organization must develop such a policy that would
explain the employees like; nurses and doctors of the care homes to know about the
functionality of each department of the organization, so that they effectively comprehend the
differences in communication processes and their effective utilization within the workplace.
Thus, in this way, the legislation and policies have positive impacts on the effectiveness of the
communication process within the health and social care organizations of the nation (Boulware,
et al. 2016).
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2.4 SUGGEST WAYS THROUGH WHICH THE COMMUNICATION CAN BE
IMPROVED WITHIN THE HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE ORGANIZATIONS
From the case scenario of young English student nurse, it can be analyzed that the new student
nurse highly requires training to improve her communication within the workplace, as several
other people of the care home have shown concerned about the communication of that nurse
with the organization’s patients. Her attitude and behaviour towards the patients are not
correct and thus, it might lead to the generation of discomfort among the patients regarding
the care homes and the health care practitioners working there.
There is an assortment of different ways by the means of which the communication within the
health and social care organizations can be improved effectively. The superior management
committees of the health and social care organizations must conduct some group activities at
the end of the weeks and must ensure that all the persons of those organizations take
participation in those group activities. The organizational leaders must play a vital role in
improving the communication skills of the other healthcare professionals by motivating them
and helping them to solve out their organizational issues (Coulter, et al. 2014). The patients and
the healthcare practitioners must also be provided with the clean and happy environment
within the organization so that they can easily express their viewpoints and communicate with
the other persons effectively within the organizations. Consequently, these are some of the
ways through which the communication can be improved within the health and social care
organizations.
CONCLUSION
From this essay, it can be concluded that there are impacts of key factors on the
communication process along with it there are several impacts of legislation on the
effectiveness of communication process within a healthcare organization too that are discussed
above.
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TASK 3
3.1 ACCESS AND USE OF ICT SOFTWARE IN A HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE
WORKPLACE
The extensional term for information technology (IT) is Information and Communication
Technology (ICT) which majorly stresses on the integration of telecommunications and the role
of unified communications. There is an assortment of different ICT software that is developed
to utilize the communication through telephone lines, audio-visual systems, computers,
wireless signals, and enterprise software. The majorly used ICT software in the health and social
care organizations of the UK is ‘Google Services’, as it aids to develop effective communication
between the management committees and the patients of the care homes. Other than Google
Services, the important ICT software that is used within health and social care organizations of
the UK is ‘Microsoft Excel’.
This ICT software is used to create spreadsheets containing statistical data regarding the
information of the service users (Council, et al. 2010). It is also used to maintain the records of
expenses of the organization on a variety of different components such as; medicines, foods
and nutrition of the patients, cleaning staff, salaries of the staff members, treatment expenses,
etc. Other than this ICT software, the medication software is also used by the health and social
care organizations to improve the safety of the patients within the workplace by appropriately
managing the risks that are associated with the medical services. This ICT software also aids to
track the medication process that has been carried out by the healthcare professionals in the
organization. Other important ICT software is ‘Staff Rota Software’, which helps the
management committees of the health and social care organizations to manage the rolling shift
patterns effectively. It also helps to maintain the information of the staff members and other
healthcare professionals that work within the organization. Thus, these are some of the
applications of different ICT software that is used in the health and social care organizations.
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3.2 ANALYZE THE ADVANTAGES OF USING ICT SOFTWARE FOR THE CARE
WORKERS, SERVICE USERS AND FOR THE HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE
ORGANIZATIONS
As discussed in the previous section of the report, there are several different ICT software that
is used by the healthcare experts and management committees of the health and social care
organizations to effectively manage all the relevant information the service users of the
organizations. The mostly used ICT software include; Google Services, Staff Rota Software,
Microsoft Excel, and Medication Software. There are several advantages of using ICT software
for the patients, for the healthcare professionals, and for the health and social care
organizations of the nation (Degni, 2012).
The appropriate medication is provided to the service users by the service providers through
the different ICT software that is discussed above. The service users can receive a high quality
of health services and treatment with the help of this ICT software. The major benefits of using
ICT software are for the care workers and the health and social care organizations. The service
providers of the care homes get several cost and time-related benefits, as the utilization of ICT
software for the treatment of patients as well as to maintain the records of their information
does not consume much time and cost. The utilization of ICT software also encourages the
health and safety environment for the service providers and caretakers to work in. It also
provides a safe and clean environment for the patients who are admitted to those health and
social care organizations. The biggest advantage of using different ICT software packages in the
health and social care organizations is that it aids to develop an effective communication
process between the patients and the service providers. The better communication can thus
lead to the fast and effective treatment of the service users by the healthcare professionals
within the health and social care homes of the nation (Epstein, 2010).
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3.3 ANALYZE THE POTENTIAL HAZARDS OF PROVIDING ICT TO THE SERVICE
USERS AND STAFF IN THE HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE ORGANIZATIONS
There are several different ICT software that is used by the health and social care organizations
of the United Kingdom for providing appropriate benefits to the patients as well as the service
users of the organization. This ICT software has several advantages for the service providers,
caretakers, service users, and the health and social care organizations as discussed in the
previous section of this report. But along with the advantages, there are some potential hazards
too of providing the ICT software to the service users and staff members within the health and
social care organizations. These potential hazards of providing ICT software in the organizations
of the health and social care sector are as follows;
BREACHES OF CONFIDENTIALITY
One of the most significant potential hazards is the breaching of confidentiality. It is very
important for the organizations of health and social care to effectively maintain the
confidentiality of the information regarding the service users of the company. The improper
utilization of ICT software may lead to the leakage of data and personal information of the
service users out of the care homes (Ha, et al. 2010).
DATA PROTECTION
Along with the personal information of the service users, the breaching of confidentiality of the
employees’ information may also take place due to the improper use of ICT software within the
workplace. There is a legislation known as Data Protection Act, 1998 which was developed and
implemented by the government of the United Kingdom; according to which the confidential
data and information of the care providers and employees of the health and social care
organizations must be appropriately protected by the management committees of the
organization (Grol, et al. 2013).
HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT, 1974
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The violation of this legislation could lead to the generation of potential hazard by providing ICT
software to the service users within the health and social care organizations. According to the
health and safety act of 1974, the ICT software that is used within the health and social care
organizations must be safeguarded and it should not cause any kind of mental or physical harm
to either organizations' employees or the service users of the care homes.
Consequently, these are some potential hazards of providing the ICT software to the service
users and staff members within the health and social care organizations and legislation that are
considered in health and social care.
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CONCLUSION
From this assignment on the communication in health and social care, it can be concluded that
there are different factors that are associated with the concept of communication within the
health and social care organizations. Also, it can be concluded that there are several practices
by the means of which effective communication skills can be developed by an individual. There
have also been several communication technologies developed so as to support work within
the health and social care organizations, and there are different aspects of these
communication technologies too.
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